According to the Western Cape government, the introduction of cannabis into the agricultural sector will create over 25 000 new jobs.
It announced that the Cannabis Framework and Implementation Plan (CanPlan), a framework for introducing cannabis into the province’s agricultural sector, will be launched this week.
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The plan, according to EWN, will establish cannabis as a player in economic development by creating job opportunities and alleviating poverty, and it will formalise the sector for informal cannabis producers and processors.
Ivan Meyer, MEC for Agriculture in the Western Cape, estimated that the cannabis industry in South Africa was worth up to R28 billion.
‘The plan aims to mainstream production and agri-processing, secondly to promote cannabis and hemp as a rotational crop in the industry, and also to evaluate measures to protect and promote the unique Western Cape hemp and cannabis features,’ said Meyer.
According to IOL, Afriplex, a Paarl-based manufacturing company rooted in the development and manufacturing of botanical medicines, food and beverages, announced last week that it had developed a new innovative technology capable of extracting cannabidiol (CBD), a first for South Africa.
Afriplex’s director, Danie JC Nel, stated that Afriplex developed this technology in collaboration with the Cannabis Research Institute of South Africa.
‘It is an extraction process combining solvent extraction, vacuum evaporation, dewaxing, fractionation and chromatographic separation to isolate various cannabinoids, including cannabidiol (CBD),’ he told IOL.
According to Nel, this technology would benefit the province by creating jobs and stimulating the economy.
The Premier of the Western Cape, Alan Winde, supports all efforts to increase employment and investment in the Western Cape, claiming that the cannabis industry can help diversify the economy and develop skills.
‘This sector has massive potential for SMMEs, which we should harness,’ he said. ‘The province’s agriculture sector, generally, remains among our most robust and resilient industries. Therefore, incorporating cannabis into our fertile agricultural fold is being considered.’
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